The Rest Is Silence
by orange-tide
Summary: Different take on Ep 18, The Truth. No one believes him. Ryan is just some madman who rambles. That's what everyone thinks. That's exactly what Oliver wants. Sorry this took so long to update. If you read Scarred Youth, last chapflashback!
1. Unstable

**Okay, I know you all want my sequel to the story, _Youth of the Nation,_ but well, that might be put off for a little bit, because I had this idea and I want to see if anyone likes it. This story takes place in episode 18, The Truth, and primarily about Ryan. Everything that happens from Ep. 18 didn't really happen, except for maybe the beginning. Well, Ryan didn't talk to Marissa, she didn't flee and Kirsten and Sandy didn't talk to Ryan. That is where it starts. I think. I lost myself. But please give this a chance, it takes a bit to get its' footing, but read through, I promise you drama. So read on, I hope you like it, and I can't wait for some reviews.(At least one might be nice)**

**Ali**

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He stared at the white walls. He hated white walls. How the hell had he landed himself in here? He didn't deserve it. It was just the plan to get rid of him. Well, it sure worked. He had lost everything dear to him, all the people he cared about. He would disappear from their lives, until he was just a figment of their imagination. But he was real. He was just sitting here, staring at the wall. There was nothing else better to do. Here was hell. Torment to him. He wanted to leave. But he had six months. Six months for something he didn't do. He was tricked, set up. Of course no one thought he was. He was just a kid striving for attention. Like Marissa. But he hadn't actually done it. No, he hadn't done it. Or had he? He couldn't remember. No, he _could_ remember. Everything that happened. All the betrayal he had gotten. Betrayal he shouldn't have deserved. Or maybe he didn't deserve this. He had been thinking about leaving. But not like this. He could remember that whole day so perfectly. The day his life fell down the drain.

000000000

Ryan stared at the pool house ceiling. It was his second day of suspension, and he had yet to find something to preoccupy him. Other than Oliver. The guy was on his mind constantly, and Ryan couldn't do a thing. Oliver was dangerous, but no one else thought he was. Maybe Luke did, but he was only one person. Luke and Ryan couldn't change everyone's minds. They weren't the most reputable people in Newport.

Ryan feared fro Marissa, what might happen to her? She ignored every bad thing about Oliver, she only saw the limited good parts. Ryan knew the truth about Oliver, just no one believed Ryan. Oliver had made Ryan into a bumbling liar. Ryan couldn't prove himself right.

He vaguely heard the cars pull out, no one even offered a goodbye. He didn't deserve one. Ryan screwed up real badly, all he wanted to do was make the Cohens proud. He didn't deserve the Cohens. They deserved someone so much better. They should just kick him out. Ryan could go back to Chino. Maybe Theresa could let him live with her. Just until he made some money. He could get a bus ticket and just get far away. Ryan needed to be away from his life.

Ryan picked up _Kavalier and Clay, _the book Seth gave to him. He could finish it. If he put his mind to it. But his mind was on Marissa. And Oliver. Marissa hated Ryan, why shouldn't she be? She wouldn't even talk to Ryan directly. She made Oliver do it. But that didn't seem right. Why would she? Marissa wasn't _that_ afraid of confrontation, was she? Ryan was the one who hated to talk, and he was willing to talk. Nothing made sense anymore to Ryan, especially about Oliver. The stories didn't add up. Was Ryan the only one who saw that? Oliver had pitted everyone against Ryan. Even Seth. Ryan's best friend didn't even believe him. Seth was beginning to think Ryan was insane. But he wasn't. Ryan was the only sane person in Newport. Everyone believed Oliver. They didn't know a thing about the guy, and they automatically believed him. They didn't believe Ryan when he came to Newport. So why was the world so against Ryan? Had he gotten too much? Had he become so used to Newport living? That was it. Ryan wasn't supposed to be in Newport, he had adjusted too much. The trip to Chino was supposed to have un-adjusted him. But it hadn't. Maybe it would've if Marissa hadn't followed him. He should have gotten what he deserved.

Ryan didn't believe Oliver, he wanted to hear Marissa tell Ryan that she hated him. He grabbed the phone and began to dial Marissa's cell phone number. It rang, and rang again. She didn't pick up. Ryan checked the clock. Marissa should be in the hallways now, why wasn't she picking up? Her message started, Marissa had to be ignoring Ryan.

"Hey Marissa, this is Ryan. Um, I really wanna talk, about everything. Especially what you told Oliver to tell me in the library. Um, call me back, or maybe stop by the pool house. All right, bye." Ryan hung up. It was an okay message. He wanted to talk to Marissa so badly, to explain himself. But she wouldn't listen.

Ryan decided he should eat. It would waste some time. And he had all the time in the world now. Suspension for five days. At least. So he got up and left the pool house. The sun shined on him and Ryan shielded his eyes. Everything was quiet. Ryan doubted the Cohens' house had ever been this quiet. Ryan opened the door and stepped inside. Everything was still, too still. He walked to the cabinet and pulled out a random cereal box and poured it into a bowl. The silence irked him, it never had before. Ryan used to enjoy the silence, since he never usually experienced it. He started to eat his cereal, and his mind drifted to Marissa. What was she doing? What was _Oliver _doing?

Marissa sat in her calculus room, thinking about Ryan. Why had he gotten so strange? What was his problem with Oliver? She shouldn't have gone to school. She should've just ditched with Oliver, it would've been good. Ryan had called earlier, and it made Marissa mad. She ignored it, letting Oliver borrow her cell phone to call Natalie before checking her messages. Ryan hadn't left a message, typical him. He didn't leave a message the day before either. He only wanted to talk at the moment, when it was convenient to him, no one else mattered. Why did he have to call? It just upset Marissa. Didn't he think of other people's feelings? Marissa had loved him, and he got all jealous over a friend. Marissa just wanted to help Oliver, couldn't Ryan understand that?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a piece of paper sliding over. Oliver was looking up at the teacher while doing this. Marissa took the paper and read it. _Hang out tonight?_ She wrote back, _of course,_ and gave the paper back to Oliver. He read it and smiled at her, while she smiled back. She didn't need Ryan.

Hours later, Ryan again sat in the pool house, reading _Kavalier and Clay_. He wasn't far, he didn't mind. It took up time. School seemed to be out, he heard a car come up the driveway. But Sandy and Kirsten didn't come home now, Seth didn't have a car, so who was it? He heard someone walking closer, it wasn't Seth. It was Oliver. Ryan stood up perplexed. Oliver opened the door and went in.

"Hey Ryan," These meetings never ended good. "What's up?" Oliver held one of his sinister smiles. That meant he was planning something.

"What do you want?" Ryan asked, immediately getting defensive.

"I can't come visit Harbor's local felon?" The snide look on his face didn't disappear. Ryan stared him down, he was pissed. "Look, you called Marissa again."

"So?" Ryan didn't care. He would punch Oliver out completely, but he was already on the Cohens' bad side.

"You need to stop. She doesn't want to talk to you anymore. You're done, through. Stop calling." Oliver did have a plan. Ryan just made it so much easier to get it done.

"No. I won't until she tells me. Straight to my face." Ryan wasn't going to take any shit from Oliver, who didn't care if he got hurt from Ryan. It would just prove Ryan wrong. But Oliver wouldn't have to play the game anymore. He was ending it. He knew exactly how.

"She told me to tell you this. She doesn't want to speak to you anymore. She hates you. You betrayed her, she can't forgive you." Oliver fingered the prop in his pocket. He just had to wait until Ryan left the room. But Ryan wouldn't leave.

"I don't believe you." Oliver was a liar. He never stopped lying. Ryan couldn't believe a word he said.

"Why can't you? Or rather, why _won't_ you? You and Marissa are over. Get that through your head." Oliver wanted to see how far he could push Ryan.

Ryan didn't say anything, Oliver had silenced him. He wanted to hurt Oliver, but he stopped himself. He did want to stay with the Cohens.

"Thought so. I'll see you around Ryan." Oliver waited for Ryan to turn around. He pulled the prop out. Finally, he got the perfect time. Ryan turned his back for the tiniest few seconds, and Oliver quickly placed the item on the night stand. Ryan looked back at Oliver, never noticing.

"Well? Shouldn't you be leaving?" Ryan yelled at him, he was full of hot white anger.

"Right. Don't want Marissa to be waiting. See ya," Oliver was pushing ever correct button to annoy Ryan. As he turned to leave, Oliver mumbled to himself, "Doubt it."

Ryan was so angry, he didn't notice what Oliver had placed on Ryan's night stand. A small, empty bottle for sleeping pills now stood on there. You could clearly see it if you were looking for it.

Ryan watched Oliver leave and saw Seth come up to the pool house. Seth stopped for a moment to talk to Oliver, pissing Ryan off more. Seth and Oliver parted ways, Oliver leaving the Cohens, Seth to the pool house, holding some papers.

"Hey man," Seth greeted Ryan, trying not to notice the anger around him. "So, I brought your homework." Seth laid the papers on the bed.

"Doesn't matter anymore." Ryan was never one to not do homework. Nor was he the guy who usually snuck into the school in the middle of the night. Seth thought Luke might do that, not Ryan.

"So, how was day 2 of suspension?" Seth tried to start up a conversation.

"How did Oliver get here?" Ryan was still pissed. Oliver was bad news. Why didn't anyone see it? Was Ryan the only one who saw through Oliver's lies?

"Uh, he drove me home." Seth lately didn't get Ryan. He sometimes rambled more than Seth. And Seth talked a hell of a lot.

"You went in a car with him?" Who would trust Oliver in a car?

"Uh...yeah." Man, was Ryan freaking Seth out. Just yesterday, when Seth had gone in to wake Ryan up, for a tiny bit forgetting Ryan was suspended, Seth heard Ryan talking in his sleep. To some mysterious person. Ryan would mumble, "Don't leave. Please don't leave." it confused Seth, but he really didn't think anything about it.

"Why?" Ryan wasn't going to let Oliver take everyone around Ryan and turn them against him.

"Because he's my...friend?" Ryan was scaring Seth so much. What was up with him? Oliver had taken something from deep inside Ryan and brought it out into the open. A bad trait.

"How can you be friends with him?" Oliver was pure evil, he couldn't have friends.

"I am, Ryan. What do you have against the guy?" Seth didn't want to fight with Ryan. Seth would lose, no doubt about it. Seth was weak, Ryan wasn't. And seeing the damage on Oliver's face, Ryan was ready for a fight.

"He's unstable! He can't be trusted!" Ryan couldn't believe people still believed Oliver. After all the things against him, who could?

"You're unstable man!" Seth couldn't take it. Ryan had lost it.

"What?" Ryan had suddenly gotten quieter, thinking about what Seth said.

"You're unstable!" Seth didn't know when Ryan changed, but he had. Seth wanted to help him, but there wasn't a way Seth could help Ryan.

"What are you talking about?" There had been only one other time someone ever yelled that to Ryan. It was when Ryan was seven, and Trey had been twelve, and their father had been arrested. Trey screamed it at Ryan, who had shed some tears over their father. Trey beat the tears out of Ryan. All of them. Ryan never cried after that.

"Dude, Marissa talked to me today. She says Dr. Kim talked to her about you. She called me down too, but I dodged it." Seth relived the day's events to Ryan, who looked down.

"You're lying." He said to the ground.

"No, I'm not. Man, you've got problems. We all do. Just maybe you should see a therapist. I heard Mom and Dad talking about it." No one truly believed him. They thought he was crazy. Not a single person thought he was right. They all betrayed him.

"You're lying." Ryan didn't say anything else, be felt alone. Most of his life he was alone, but when he got to Newport, he had allies. Him and Seth were similar, they should understand each other. But Seth didn't understand what Ryan was trying to say about Oliver.

"Listen man, it might no be so bad. It could help." Seth walked over to Ryan, trying to cheer him up. Ryan had had some bad days lately.

"Get the hell away from me!" Ryan pushed Seth away as he got closer. Seth was taken aback, he hadn't expected that.

"What's your problem man?" Seth yelled at Ryan as Seth pushed him back. Ryan didn't fall back nearly as far as Seth had, but Ryan was pissed, and so was Seth.

"I don't know, I'm unstable!" Ryan pushed Seth again, and Seth wasn't taking it. Ryan was off the wall. Seth wasn't thinking, and he punched Ryan. Not very hard, but actually pretty hard for Seth. He was amazed he had actually his Ryan. Ryan's immediate reaction was punch Seth back, which he did. He hit him hard, Seth falling to the ground. Immediately he regretted it, feeling worse than ever. "Seth, I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me." Ryan tried apologizing, but Seth dint want to hear it.

"I, I gotta go. See ya around Ryan." Seth began to back out of the pool house, his hand still where Ryan hit him. Ryan felt horrible, how could he have done that? It wasn't like Ryan to _ever_ punch someone he cared about, that wasn't him. Was he really crazy?

"Seth..." Ryan made a small effort to keep Seth in the pool house. Seth left Ryan alone, and he fell on the bed. Had he just done that? He couldn't believe it. Ryan just punched Seth. _Seth._ What the hell was wrong with him? Once Kirsten and Sandy hear, they would be pissed at Ryan. They'd want to kick Ryan out for sure.

Would they kick Ryan out? They wouldn't, would they? It was just a harmless punch, Seth started it.

About two hours later, Ryan heard Kirsten call for him. Ryan got up dismally and headed to the kitchen, where Seth was silently placing silverware on the table.

"Take out is served." Kirsten greeted Ryan nicely. Obviously Seth didn't say a word to his parents. They all sat down and ate in silence, Seth wasn't even attempting to start a conversation. Both boys had bruises on their faces, Seth's larger than Ryan's, but Kirsten and Sandy said nothing about it. Ryan ate little, he wasn't hungry, nor tired. He hadn't been sleeping all that much. He needed some help with that. When dinner was over, and Ryan was helping Kirsten clean up(Seth had already gone upstairs), he asked her.

"Um, Kirsten do you have any sleeping pills? I can't seem to fall asleep." Ryan began to put some dishes in the dishwasher.

"Oh, yeah. I have some in the bathroom." Kirsten never thought about it, nor did Ryan. Oliver couldn't have asked for more from Ryan. He was helping Oliver out, without even knowing it. As Ryan left, he wondered what would happen when Sandy and Kirsten found out about the fight.

Ryan walked to the bathroom, and got the pills from the medicine cabinet. He took two, only two, and placed the bottle back. He needed to sleep through some things, just relax. He would not go to a therapist. No way, they didn't understand. He left the bathroom and headed back to the pool house. Seth watched Ryan go, man was Seth pissed. He didn't know what was wrong with Ryan, he had lost it.

Seth tried to sleep. It wasn't working. It was only nine o'clock. Seth never fell asleep before eleven. He had nothing to do except be pissed at Ryan. How fun.

Captain Oats stared Seth down. Seth figured he was probably in the wrong. He wasn't even backing up his own brother. Wasn't that what brothers did? Stick up for each other? Ryan always backed Seth up, and when Ryan needed bak-up, Seth had vacated.

Even Captain Oats was pissed off at Seth. He wasn't talking to him. Wait, had he ever?

Two hours passed and Seth was still staring at Captain Oats. The deal with Ryan was bugging the hell out of Seth. He should talk to Ryan. No, maybe he shouldn't. He should. Shouldn't. Should. Shouldn't. Should. Yes, he should.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm going right now." Seth told Captain Oats. He took the pillow that was resting on his stomach and threw it at Captain Oats. It missed. "Damn it." Seth was in an okay mood, he left his room to talk to Ryan. Apologize, make some jokes, laugh, then leave with his conscience cleared. A perfect plan.

Seth tiptoed down the hall, his parents weren't asleep. He slowly made his way down the stairs. So far, so good. No parents in sight. He walked into the kitchen, and could hear the television from in the family room. This might be a little harder than Seth thought. He made it all the way to the door before getting caught.

"Seth, where are you going?" Kirsten asked him.

"Hmm? Me? I'm not going anywhere." Seth answered stupidly. Great answer, ace.

"You're up, son. Where are you going?" Sandy now questioned Seth.

"I just want to talk to Ryan." Seth had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Like something was up.

"It's late. He's probably sleeping." They never really looked up at Seth, their eyes glued to the television set.

"I know, but I really, really need to talk to him. It's important." Seth was getting impatient.

"Make it quick." Kirsten finally released him and Seth rushed out the house. The world was dark, the pool glittered. All the shades were drawn in the pool house, everything looked so perfect. Seth went to the door. He figured it would be locked, so he stole the spare key in the kitchen. But it was unlocked. Seth opened the door and found Ryan sleeping on the bed.

"Ryan. Hey, man. Wake up." Seth whispered and nudged Ryan. Nothing. "Dude, wake up." Still nothing. Seth had never known Ryan to be a heavy sleeper. "Ryan!" Seth yelled and saw the tiniest movement. What the hell? Seth shook Ryan, but nothing happened. He looked around for something to wake Ryan up. But he saw something more important. The empty pill bottle.


	2. Crumbling Away

**Well, this has sure taken a while to update. I really felt like this needed another chance. I'm almost through with _The World Forgotten_, which has taken up most of my time, and my friend, rockstarhobbit and me are still writing _Stranded Memories._ So, please wait for that, I will be finishing up a chapter soon. This story had suddenly gotten kinda close to the one I'm writing now, so that's why there was a what, forever month break. Oh, and my other friend, StuckinPA, who is writing _Be Not Forgotten_, and it is super good. So, please read this, I hope I didn't lose all the viewers for this. Oh, right, so you know: at first, this will be in the future, so you don't get confused. **

Ryan was nodding off to sleep, when he began to think about the second family he tore apart. They didn't visit him a lot. He was allowed some visits, and he still remebered the first. It was awkward, since they all had betrayed him. No one spoke, and he had yet to see them since. They didn't matter anymore. He had lost everything.

It was the middle of the day, he was back in his favorite room. He was so drugged up when he got in here, he didn't even know what he did. Ryan didn't feel anymore, he was just an empty shell.

His therapist floated into the room, he sat down in the chair in front of Ryan. Ryan didn't say a word, he couldn't form words.

"Hello Ryan," Ryan's therapist greeted him, and Ryan gave him a small smile to acknowledge the presence. "How about we discuss the things that led to your stay? That's pretty much all there is to talk about."

"Don't wanna," Ryan choked out and looked to the only window that showed nothing. The only thing it showed was a blue sky, a sky he'd never see again.

"Well, you have to. Those people are your family," Ryan's therapist informed him.

"They aren't my family anymore."

* * *

Seth was scared. What if Ryan was dead? This wasn't good, oh God, this wasn't good. 

"Ryan, come on man. Wake up. Wake up dude," Seth was shaking Ryan. It wasn't working. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. C'mon Ryan. Please wake up," Seth didn't know what to do. The only thing to do was get Seth's parents.

He rushed out the door, not thinking. He was scared as hell, what if Ryan was dead? Damn, this wasn't good.

"Mom, Dad, it's Ryan!" Seth told them. They looked over, no worry was on their face. "He's not waking up."

"Seth, he's probably just a heavy sleeper," Kirsten reassured him.

"There was an empty pill bottle next to him," Kirsten's heart stopped, so did Sandy's. Kirsten felt sick, she had told Ryan where the pills were. She never thought Ryan would OD. Ryan was good, better than a lot of kids.

Sandy and Kirsten got up, and followed Seth to the pool house. Ryan still lie there, Kirsten immediately saw the bottle. She felt tears form, this was a sight she never thought she'd see. Sandy ran over to Ryan, and shook him. Nothing.

"Call 911," kristen obeyed and called. Seth just stood there, staring at his brother. This couldn't be happening. What had Ryan done?

Soon enough, they heard an ambulance come up their driveway. Seth ran outside to get the paramedics. They followed him to the pool house and Sandy helped them put Ryan on the stretcher after checking him. Sandywent along with the paramedics, kissed Kirsten, and went in the ambulance. Kirsten and Seth stood there, just letting everything sink in.

"We should go," Kirsten announced, her face red from tears. Seth didn't say a thing, he just went to the garage with his mom. Everything was happening so fast. Why the hell did Ryan do something like this? Something _had_ changed in Ryan, now there was no doubt about it. But Seth never saw Ryan as the person who would try to kill himself. If he was, wouldn't he had done it long before he came to Newport?

He remained silent as Kirsten drove to the hospital. This wasn't happening. Ryan wasn't the person to do this. He wasn't the person to overdose. Why had he? Sure, he was having problems with Marissa and that Oliver thing, but was life really that bad? Kirsten wanted to throw up.

She was going way over the speed limit, and she didn't care. Just hopefully a cop wouldn't catch them. Her mind was racing, and nothing else mattered. Ryan was almost dead. Why was this happening?

Seth stared at the hospital as his mother pulled into it. He regretted all the things he said to Ryan earlier. What if he was part of the reason Ryan did this? Seth would never forgive himself.

Kirsten parked the car and Seth raced to the doors. She took a moment to gain her composure. Be calm. Breathe. Ryan is not dead. Just keep repeating that, and hopefully it will come true.

She opened the door to her car and got out. Seth was almost at the doors and she couldn't pick up her pace. What would she find when she got in there? A dead son? A ruined family? How could this happen? For once, she was happy with how her life was, and she might lose a son. How could this happen?

Her nightmare was coming true. It had been in her dreams, she saw it happening. She saw her marriage fall apart, Seth and Ryan had disappeared. First Ryan, then Seth. And now it was coming true. Shit.

Seth and Kirsten got in the emergency room, and found Sandy quickly. He paced around, looking at his watch, waiting for them.

"How is he?" Kirsten immediately asked Sandy when they reached him.

"He's getting his stomach pumped. He should be fine," Sandy told them. This was one of the scariest things that ever happened to him. He remembered back when he was ten, his neighbor killed himself. That had been scary, but not like this. Ryan was his son, and he had wanted to die.

"Thank God," Kirsten fell into Sandy's arms. This was too much. She had been worried about Ryan since the New Year. He had changed so much. She hadn't seen him break any rules in so long. Then, all of a sudden, he was punching people again, and breaking into school and reading confidential files.

"How could this happen?" Sandy asked rhetorically as all three of them went to sit down. Seth was in shock, thinking about the fight. It was his fault Ryan did this.

Kirsten's thoughts went back to dinner. When Ryan asked for sleeping pills. Why hadn't she stopped him? It was her fault Ryan did this.

Sandy shouldn't have been so hard on Ryan. Or maybe he shouldn't even have brought him home. It was Sandy's fault Ryan did this.

Eventually, Ryan was put in a stable condition and given a room on the fourth floor, the psych floor. He slept, undrugged, as Kirsten, Sandy, and Seth watched him in worry. Hours were going by quickly, and when they looked at the clock, it was three in the morning.

"You should go home and sleep. Seth, you have school," Sandy announced.

"What about you? You have to sleep," Kirsten objected. She didn't want to leave until she saw Ryan awake.

"I'll be fine. Go home, take a nap, get ready for school and work, I'll stay here and watch," Sandy told them.

"I'm coming back right after I drop off Seth," Kirsten decided. Seth felt like he was invisible. His brother almost died, yet he still had to go to school. How fair was that? He wanted to make sure Ryan was okay. He didn't want to leave. But did his parents care? Nope. Ryan had gained all the attention.

"All right," Sandy agreed and Kirsten agreed and kissed her husband. "I'll call if anything changes."

"Okay. Come on Seth," Kirsten began to leave and Seth reluctantly got up, waved goodbye to his dad and Ryan, and followed his mom out of the room.

They arrived home and Seth secluded himself in his room. He collapsed on his bed, and was ready to fall asleep, but he couldn't. Everything was swimming through his head. Ryan almost died. That was too much to comprehend. Just yesterday, okay a week ago, he was smiling.

What had happened to him?

Nothing was adding up. Ryan didn't seem that distressed when Seth saw him. Okay, maybe he was a little crazy, but not enough to give up on his life. This was Ryan Atwood, who had been through everything. Maybe Seth finally made Ryan realize that ending his life was the only way out.

But Ryan wasn't like that. He wouldn't try to kill himself. Correction: The old Ryan wouldn't try to kill himself. Ever since Oliver came, he had been acting strange. Really strange. Stealing, breaking into stuff. Maybe that was what Ryan was like in Chino. Maybe Oliver was an old friend. Nah, that was too illogical. Oliver was rich, Ryan had come from a not-so-rich family.

"Seth? Are you okay?" Kirsten knocked on her son's door, hoping to talk. Her world was falling apart. Why did Ryan have to do this? The perfectly structured life of hers was crumbling away.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine, just tired," Seth answered and she felt she wasn't wanted. So she walked away, heading down to her room. She laid on the bed, and sighed. Tears began to fall down her perfect porcelain face and ran down to her neck.

She needed Sandy so badly.

All of their lives were crumbling away to dust.

* * *

"They are your family, Ryan. You lived with them for..." Ryan's therapist began to look through his papers. 

"Four months, three weeks exactly. That doesn't constitute as being a family," Ryan knew how long he spent in that house. That time was the best of his life, before he fucked up everything.

"Ryan, what happened that day? You never spoke about it," Ryan's therapist trully wanted to help Ryan, who didn't care about leaving. If he left, he had nowhere to go. The Cohens weren't gonna take him in, Marissa was who the hell cares, his brother was in jail, and he didn't know anyone else. This was the closest thing to home he had.

"I don't want to," Ryan felt tired, something that happened a lot. They drugged him up so much that he couldn't really think straight. But who cared? If he thought straight, it would bring him back to the thing he loved. Newport. Marissa, the Cohens, Summer Roberts. But none of them existed anymore. They were all gone. None of them cared.

They all believed Oliver, and after that day, the rest was silence.

**So? I'm sorry it's soooo short! Do you think I should keep writing in this? I know it's kinda hard to imagine, maybe it isn't. But oh well. Please read three other stories: _The World Forgotten, Stranded Memories, _and_ Be Not Forgotten._ They are really good stories. I hope you all liked this, and I didn't disappoint you!**


	3. Mixed Feelings

**So, this takes forever to update. Right now, I'm working on like four stories: This, _Scarred Youth, Stranded Memories_ and another one that isn't the O.C. or any tv show for that matter. After this, I have to type up Stranded Memories, so look for a Scarred Youth update around next Friday. That's all we can hope for. So, this story has changed a lot from when I started it, but tell me what you think. I've become a time jumper in here. Hehe.** **Oh, and to differentiate time differences, 00X00 means new time, and 000 means same time.**

She walked down the hall with precaution. It had been the same for three months. Ryan was gone, and with him, he took their old life away.

She saw Seth and Anna laughing and being all coupley. They had been together for four months. She was sorta happy for them. They lived their life without worry.

"Hey!" Seth noticed her and the couple walked over.

"Hey Cohen, Anna," She greeted them with her fake smile.

"Hey Summer," Anna said to Summer, who had kept up the lies for four months. She secretly hated Anna with Seth, it killed her. Well, it used to. She had given up on Seth. He changed.

Not a really long time ago, the Cohens gave up on Ryan. He wasn't even mentioned anymore. Summer remembered him, she was the only one. Marissa slowly floated away from them, especially Summer and she got closer to Oliver. They were also a couple. Oliver had finally worked his way into Marissa's heart. Frequently, they would skip school and trek off to new and fascinating places. Marissa wasn't the same since Ryan.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Seth asked Summer, he felt bad for her. She was so alone. She had tried her luck at other guys, but none worked. She had no one.

"No," Summer never did anything with friends. She didn't have many.

"Wanna come over? You know, we can play a little Playstation," Seth tried to be nice to her.

"Sure. Thanks. Um, I'll see you guys later," Summer made her exit and could see Marissa and Oliver walking up the other way. She hoped they'd notice her today.

But instead, Marissa gave Summer an evil scowl and the two went on their way.

Oh yes, this was hell on earth.

0000000XXXX0000000

Seth groggily woke up. His alarm was buzzing off, and he couldn't remember what day it as. Then it all hit him. Ryan tried to die last night.

The thought would haunt Seth forever. It was so disturbing. Ryan almost died.

Seth got changed and walked downstairs to find no one was home. His parents went back to the hospital. Oh well, he'd hitch a ride from one of his friends.

Anna's car was in the show and she was getting a ride from her dad, so that was a no-go. And Marissa...nah. His only choices were Summer or Luke.

Summer.

"Hello?" Summer picked up her cell phone as she rummaged through her things, looking for her necklace.

"Hi Summer," Seth felt strange talking to her voluntarily. She tried to win his heart, and he chose Anna. Seth knew he hurt Summer a lot, but she did an excellent job at covering it up.

"Oh hey Cohen. What's up?" Summer found her necklace and stuffed in her purse. She wouldn't be able to put it on while talking to Seth.

It bothered her a lot that he chose Anna, and she was trying her best to break them up, but sadly it wasn't working. She needed to try new guys. Just because the guy who's in love with you for around ever decides finally when you want to be together that he wants someone else, doesn't mean she was ruined forever.

"Listen, um, can you pick me up? My parents aren't home, and yeah," Seth explained to her. He didn't want to tell her about Ryan right away, those two weren't the best of friends. In fact, they barely talked. The last time Seth could remember Summer having an interaction alone with Ryan was...his first night. And Seth ended that.

"Sure, I guess. I'll be there in a few," Summer clicked the phone off and rushed out of the house and to the car. Why couldn't he just get his _girlfriend_ to take him to school? Was that the only reason Summer was around? So she could do favors for people. Seth totally was using her. He was taking the fact that she had feelings for him and wrapping her around his little finger.

She shouldn't go. No, she couldn't do that to Seth. Damn her ethics.

Summer got to the house and slowly walked up to the door. She rang the bell about a million times, and Seth reluctantly got up from his comfort on the couch to answer up. She continued to hitting the doorbell.

"Hold on," He opened the door and Summer shoved the necklace at Seth before he even could say another word. She'd use him.

"Put this on," Summer ordered, and Seth took the necklace and laid it along her skin. It was this tiny little moment they had, where Summer sort of fell for Seth again. But she had to keep her head straight. He was gone.

Seth clasped the necklace together and let go.

"Thanks, I didn't have time to put it on. So, are you ready? Where's Chino?" Summer looked around the house to see if Ryan was hiding somewhere. She had forgotten he was still suspended.

"He's, uh, not here. Listen, I'll tell you in the car. Let's go," Seth quickly grabbed his backpack while Summer led the way to the car.

"So, what's up with Ryan?" Summer asked once they got on the road.

"He's in the hospital," Seth went over the night's events. Never in his life would he be thinking he'd tell Summer Roberts, who liked him, about Ryan Atwood, his first real friend, about a drug overdose. This was one crazy world they were living in.

"What? Why? How?" Summer was shocked. She had been a little freaked out by Ryan from what Marissa said.

"He, uh, took some pills," Seth informed the girl he had loved. He didn't even know if he felt the same way now.

"So he overdosed?" Summer guessed.

"Yeah," She was even more shocked. This was totally out of character for him. Marissa overdosed, Ryan brooded. Seth rambled, and Summer bitched. Those were the rules. You couldn't just change them.

"Wow. That totally doesn't sound like Ryan," Summer commented as she stopped at a red light. She looked over at Seth and now understood why he was seemed so out of it. His brother tried to die.

"I know. But I found him last night," Seth shuddered, and Summer felt worse.

"That's horrible. I hope he's okay," She let a silence come over the two and they didn't say a word as they parked in the school lot. Summer waited for Seth to leave to get out. She watched him catch up with Anna, and felt even more used. All Seth would want from her was just rides when he couldn't get on. He didn't care about her at all.

She continued to watch as a fear came across Anna's face, and the two walked together, holding each other close. Summer was jealous.

"Hey Sum," Marissa came up behind Summer, and she turned, only to see Oliver next to Marissa.

"Hey guys," Summer faked her smile and all three began to walk up to the school.

"Saw you with Seth. Anything going on there?" Marissa teased and Oliver grew cross. He hated when he wasn't in the conversation with Marissa.

"Ew! No!" Summer commented, but she felt the opposite.

"Did you see Ryan? Shouldn't he be coming back tomorrow?" Marissa still did have feelings for Ryan, but she couldn't trust him. Oliver was getting annoyed. Ryan should be gone if the plan worked.

"Um, he was sick," Summer lied as Oliver scowled. Why couldn't Marissa be over Ryan? Ryan was old news, done and over with.

"Is he taking any pills?" Oliver asked Summer, almost laughing. She eyed him strangely.

"I don't know," Summer answered as she noticed him interlocking hands. Marissa smiled. She felt safe with Oliver. Unlike Ryan. He was 'unstable.'

"Well, I hope he feels better. I'll see you later Sum. Come on, Ol," Summer immediately noticed that Oliver had gained a nickname from Marissa. They began to walk away from Summer.

"Yeah, see ya_ Sum,_" Oliver remarked evilly and she watched them disappear.

Hopefully everything would turn out all right.

0000000XXXX0000000

Summer knocked on the Cohens' front door. She heard giggling and the door swung open. Seth and Anna were all over each other, but immediately stopped when they saw Summer.

"Oh hi, Summer," Seth greeted her.

"Hey Cohen. Anna," Summer walked in, feeling a change in the house.

"We were just about to eat. You came right in time," All three went to the kitchen where Kirsten and Sandy were setting up takeout.

"Summer, hi! Welcome!" Kirsten smiled. You couldn't tell Ryan was ever there. Summer was thinking about the boy more and more often. She was just so sick of being here. She wanted to see him, see a glimpse of the past that they all had.

"Thanks for having me," Summer sat down and Seth laid a plate of takeout in front of her. They all sat down and began to eat, the Cohen banter took over.

Summer didn't pay attention to what they were saying, she didn't much care. She didn't even know why she said yes to this dinner. They weren't even acknowledging her. Like she didn't exist. Like she was Ryan.

Summer glanced out the window and saw the pool house. It was dark. It had been dark for a while. The lights never came back on after they turned it out the day after Ryan was gone.

"Um, Mr. Cohen?" Summer turned to him.

"What?" Sandy smiled. He was the only one of the three that did miss Ryan. Sandy saw himself in Ryan, and it pained him a lot to have to send him away. But he had to. He was unsafe. They couldn't trust him.

"Did you happen to see Ryan lately?" It was like she just spoke of how she would kill them all. They all stopped eating and stared at her. Kirsten began to get the memories she tried so hard to forget and soon, she was tearing up.

"Excuse me," Kirsten got up before anyone could see her cry and left the room.

"Seth? Can you..." Sandy started.

"I'm on it. Anna, wanna help?" Seth looked to his girlfriend.

"Sure," The couple got up and followed Seth's mother. That left Sandy and Summer.

"Mr. Cohen, I am so sorry," Summer told him.

"It's okay. Kirsten refuses to hear about him. Sometimes I don't like to either, but I miss him. It's just all the pain that he caused, it really hurt Kirsten and Seth. A lot," Sandy explained to the girl. He used to think Seth and Summer would end up together, but Seth seemed to be with Anna.

"I know, but I figured he deserved a visit," Summer said. Sandy hadn't realized how much he missed his second son. It seemed forever ago that they walked out on him.

"No one's seen him since the first visitation. He probably hates us," Sandy commented, and he was right. Ryan had given up on the Cohens a while ago.

"Well, where is he?" Summer wanted to see him.

"At a facility up north called Killian Psychiatric," Sandy answered. He thought back to when Ryan had been a member of the family. Those were the best times the family had. Ryan made them complete.

"Do you know when I can visit?" Summer asked, she knew she had to visit now.

"This weekend. They call us every time there is a visitation, and usually Kirsten deletes the message before I hear it. But I got her this time. I picked up," Sandy replied.

"So you're positive it's this weekend?" Summer wondered.

"Positive."

0000000XXXX0000000

Kirsten's eyes drooped down, but she pinched herself to stay awake. Kirsten had gotten a call from Sandy that she had to get to the hospital. She had rushed out the door, not even leaving a note for Seth.

Ryan groaned and both Sandy and Kirsten shot up immediately, staring at the pale boy. He groaned again and opened his eyes.

"Where am I?" Ryan sat up right away. He was confused. His stomach was in excruciating pain, and he seemed to be in a hospital.

"You're in the hospital, Ryan," Sandy answered as Kirsten teared up.

"Why am I in here? What happened?" Ryan began to get defensive. There were too many things missing from this puzzle, and he needed to find them.

"What do you remember last?" Sandy asked. He couldn't believe the situation he was in. This was beyond comprehension. He felt so disappointed in Ryan. Plus, Sandy should have seen the signs that Ryan was getting depressed. But Sandy blew them off.

"I remember sleeping in the pool house," Ryan thought back to hopefully the night before. He had taken **two** sleeping pills and fell asleep.

"Do you remember taking any pills?" Sandy continued on with the interrogation. Kirsten just kept letting the tears slowly fall. This was killing her inside.

"Yeah, two sleeping pills," Ryan had begun to get suspicious. What were Sandy and Kirsten getting at? What had Ryan supposedly done?

"I think you miscounted," Kirsten whispered to her son, feeling sick. And then Ryan started to catch on.

"Do you think I overdosed?" Ryan recounted last night. He _knew_ he had only taken two pills. He knew that for a fact.

"Seth found the empty pill bottle," Kirsten was choking up. This was too much for her. Never had she dealt with something like this with Seth.

"I didn't overdose," But Ryan was doubting himself. How else would the bottle have gotten there? Maybe Ryan never put the cap back on and knocked the rest down. He needed a way to prove himself.

"Then how would you explain the pill bottle?" Kirsten was falling apart, she couldn't hold it together.

"I don't know," Maybe Ryan had overdosed. No, he would remember. And Seth would trick Ryan, would he? No, it had to be someone else. But who?

Oliver.

"Oliver! It was Oliver! He did it!" Ryan accused.

"What?" Sandy was confused by his son's outburst. What did Oliver have to do with this?

"It was Oliver. He came over yesterday! He must've planted the bottle. Was the bottle closed? Because I did overdose, I wouldn't have bothered to close a pill bottle," Ryan began to exclaim the thoughts that came into his head.

"Do you hear yourself!" Kirsten practically screamed at Ryan, completely breaking down. "You're talking nonsense! Why do you keep blaming Oliver! You did it! You wanted to die!"

"We'll let you alone for a little bit. Come on, Kirsten," Sandy helped his sobbing wife up and took her out of the room.

Wouldn't Ryan have known if he overdosed? It's not something you forget. No, Oliver had set him up.

Except no one saw it.

**Well, that ends the third chapter. I am working on the next one, but first I have to type up _Stranded Memories,_ then a new chapter of_ Scarred Youth._ I have a ton written for _Scarred Youth_. Like a lot, but I'm just not the most fun typer. Please review, I love reading them.**


	4. Forgotten Territory

**Wow, it's been sooo long since I updated this. Hope you don't mind. Well, I'm typing this, and if you read Scarred Youth, the last chapter I did was a flashback. So you know! Read on, hopefully I won't disappoint you.**

On visitation days, Ryan was allowed to hang in his room. Brooding this was called in the real world. Disturbed it was called here.

Three long months inched by. Three months filled with betrayal, deceit, and drug induced spasms. It completely sucked here.

"Oh Ryan..." one of the only women nurses allowed in the wing, Carrie, called to him. Carrie could be counted as an ally, but then again, he had no allies.

"What?" he didn't move from his bed. Why bother?

"You have a visitor," Carrie informed the sullen boy. Most doubted he'd ever get out. He had three more months, but that most likely would change, because he didn't want to leave. Or get better.

"Don't lie," Ryan hated having false hope. The visitor would be his therapist, or guards to escort him to safety, just in case.

"I'm not. She came all the way from Newport to see you," Ryan's thoughts flashed to Marissa, but he quickly got rid of them. Marissa hated him.

Reluctantly, very reluctantly, Ryan pulled himself up and followed the smiling Carrie out to the television area, with tons of couches and chairs just for visitation. Eventually he did look up, and he saw her.

Summer Roberts.

"Hi Ryan," Why had she come? No one ever came to see him. He was forgotten. It was so amazing to see a friendly face he'd welcome.

"Hi," Ryan walked over to her and they sat down on opposite couches. "What are you doing here?" his first thought was that someone died.

"I just thought I'd come and see you," for once, Ryan truly believed the girl and a happiness spread through him, except you couldn't see it. "You look...good," Summer noticed Ryan looked almost the same, but with subtle emotional differences.

"So do you," Ryan saw Summer as the same girl she'd always been, except there was more loneliness set in her eyes.

"Thanks," she flashed a quick smile and felt strange to smile in here.

"So how's Newport?" Ryan wanted to know all that occurred in the town he once would've liked to call home.

"Pretty much the same, except it's incredibly different," Summer blushed because of her stupid answer. Ryan didn't notice.

"The Cohens?" Ryan missed that family a lot, the family that turned their backs on him.

"Um...Sandy misses you a lot," Summer tried to give the dismayed boy a lift.

"And Mrs. Cohen?" Ryan wanted to know how _everyone_ was.

"Well, I went over and she still loses it when you're mentioned," Summer answered.

"When is that? Never?" Ryan had lost all hope of a better life. Those dreams had disappeared in the blank night that went through his brain.

"I don't know. I don't usually go over there," Ryan took the hint that Summer and Seth were not together.

"Oh. Well, how's Seth?" Ryan and his _real_ brother, Trey, were never really all that close, but they were closer than Ryan and Seth.

On Ryan's birthday, almost a month ago, he only received one phone call. From prison. Trey had somehow managed to call his little brother, from the prison to the mental institution. Yeah, the Atwoods weren't in the greatest shape. None of them had succeeded at anything.

"He's still with Anna. She pretty much takes over his life," Both teens had lost hope in Newport, there was nothing there for them.

"Cool. Is Luke still there?" Ryan asked.

"Um, yeah. I see him talking to Seth and Anna a lot. He's used to hanging out with um, _you know_, but stopped," All four previously best friends had completely separated.

"How is she? Marissa? How is she?" Ryan thought of Marissa every day, but the image of her was slowly fading.

"Well, she's, uh, happy. I think. I haven't spoken to her in like two months. Mostly she avoids everyone and just hangs out with Oliver," Summer missed her best friend.

"He's still there?" Ryan had never trusted Oliver. The guy was a madman. Ryan wasn't insane. Oliver was.

"Yeah, unfortunately," No one liked Oliver, especially Ryan and Summer.

"You believe me about the overdose thing, right?" Ryan didn't know if he had any Newport allies. It'd be nice to have one.

"Of course. All Oliver wants is Marissa, and he got her," Oliver was a complete mastermind.

"Got rid of everyone around her?" Ryan asked.

"Supposedly, she doesn't even come home anymore," Summer sighed. She missed her best friend so much.

"Gosh, Newport must suck," Ryan relaxed in the couch a bit and Summer smiled a tiny smile.

"Does for me, everyone else is fine," Summer was glad to talk to someone who agreed with the things she said.

"A lot changed," Ryan wouldn't have guessed how much the people he knew changed.

"You have no idea."

000000XXXX000000

"You do know why you're here, correct?" Kirsten and Sandy had set Ryan to see the on call psychiatrist.

"Uh, I was set up," Ryan answered. He was so pissed off with the situation now. It sucked.

"Ryan, you swallowed a full bottle of sleeping pills. Do you understand the severity of this? You could've died," It was a Friday afternoon, everyone would be getting out of school. And Ryan was being evaluated by a shrink.

"Except I didn't take those pills," Why wouldn't anyone believe Ryan? Everyone believed the opposite.

"Then who did?" Ryan was silent. "Now, it says here you've had some problems with the law. You've stolen a car, vandalized a home, burned it down to be exact, and recently, you were caught going through people's personal records. Are you unhappy with your life?"

"No," for the most part, Ryan lost his new life. It was great.

"Then what's bothering you?" Ryan immediately had an answer.

Oliver.

"This guy, he's out to get rid of me. He's unstable, and been in a mental institution, and, and, he's a drug addict. I'm not crazy, he is," Ryan explained to the shrink, who nodded.

"But you overdosed on pills," the shrink pointed out to Ryan.

"I didn't, that was a set-up," why wouldn't anyone believe him?

"So you have no doubt that this person set you up?" Ryan knew he sounded crazy. But he wasn't. They had to believe him.

"Oliver did it. He came over for no reason and then left. No one does that," Ryan kept telling the shrink, who kept nodding.

"Are you friends with this 'Oliver'?" the shrink didn't believe him. Of course she wouldn't.

"No," Ryan felt as though he was fighting for an already lost battle.

"Do you talk often with 'Oliver'?" Ryan was still shocked that Kirsten and Sandy refused to believe him. The sight of Ryan brought Kirsten to tears. Dawn used to do that after their father went to jail. She would just stare at Ryan and Trey and fall into sobs. Then she'd take of sig of alcohol and cry some more.

"Not voluntarily. He talks to me," immediately, Ryan noticed that sounded completely crazy.

"So 'Oliver' talks to you?" the shrink thought Oliver was fake.

"Look, Oliver is real. Ask Kirsten and Sandy. Seth. Marissa. Anna. Luke. Summer. They all know him. And they all believe him," Ryan felt so hopeless.

"What are they believing?" the shrink knew Ryan needed some help.

"That's he's perfectly sane and he's not. He's crazy. And, and been in a mental institute," Ryan was stuttering.

"You said. Now where did you meet Oliver?" the shrink asked.

"Well, at his place, I suppose. Marissa met him at therapy," Ryan and banking on going to therapy after this.

"Marissa?"

"My ex-girlfriend," Ryan hated calling her that.

"When did this happen?" the shrink wondered.

"A few days ago."

"Was it over Oliver?"

"Yeah."

Ryan was a goner.

000000XXXX000000

"So, I guess I'll go. I've got a three hour drive ahead of me," Summer stood up and Ryan followed suit. It was about four in the afternoon.

"Yeah, you gotta get back to Newport," Ryan commented. He didn't want Summer to leave. He enjoyed the time with her.

"Well, I'll see you next visitation. Two weeks, right?" Summer had planned a while back in the day that she would come back.

"You're gonna come back?" Ryan was surprised. No one ever came back.

"Of course. Why not?" Ryan felt like Summer's only ally. She needed him.

"Uh, I don't know. No one ever comes and when they did, they never came back a second time," Ryan explained to the girl, who immediately felt bad.

"Well, I'm gonna come back. And maybe I'll get Seth to come," Summer replied, but she figured it would take a lot of persuasion for Seth to come.

"Yeah, I doubt he'll come. The only person that would come from what you said would be Mr. Cohen," Ryan hadn't called Sandy by his first name since the 'incident'. When Ryan was officially crazy, and lost trust in everyone.

"He seems like the only one who misses you. Other than me," Summer hadn't noticed how much Ryan had disappeared from most of their lives.

"Thanks," Ryan was glad that at least two people missed him.

"No problem," Summer smiled and they began to walk up the hall. Summer didn't really feel like leaving. Here, it was safe to talk. In Newport, any word could trigger a mountain of emotions. And you would think it'd be the opposite. "So, I'll see you in two weeks," Summer reluctantly told him and she smiled at him sadly.

"Well, I finally have something to look forward to," Ryan joked. A joke hadn't been uttered by him in over three months. It was strange to hear himself give a tiny laugh.

"Is that a compliment? Because I can't tell," Summer smiled some more.

"Yeah, it is," Ryan told her.

"Well then, thanks," she said. "I'll see you in two weeks," A nurse began walking towards them and they hugged. Ryan hadn't felt a gesture such as this since he was last dating Marissa. That was forever ago.

"Bye," Ryan watched Summer leave and felt alone all over again.

**I hope that satisfied you. And I will be updating this(and writing in it) more often, since the summer is approaching. And if you read Scarred Youth, again, that last chapter was a flashback! LOL. Please review, I love them!**


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